Ivory Coast beat Ghana on penalties to win 1992 AFCON
Abedi Pele wins 1992 AFCON best player
Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, a politician and an ardent follower of Ghana football since the 1970s has placed Abedi Pele third in his list of the top three Black Stars players of all time.
Basing his argument on talent, the ex-football commentator and staunch Asante Kotoko fan named former Hearts of Oak player, Mohammed Polo as his all-time best player at the Black Stars.
Agyapong put Kotoko great, Abdul Razak 'golden boy' second on the list with Abedi coming third.
In a discussion on Metro TV about some great players who have played for the senior national team, Agyapong was asked whether Abedi Pele is his all-time best.
He answered: "I think Mohammed Polo. I saw him early when he was a kid. In 1973 and 74, Polo was something else...Polo was great."
When asked whether he will put Polo ahead of Abedi Pele in Black Stars history, he said "I would think so. Even Abdul Razak ahead of Abedi".
"The golden boy, Abdul Razak. The 70s Razak, mid-75 Ghana against Morocco World Cup qualifiers, he was young...Those were the days. He was an offensive midfielder. He was a great player…he was a prolific goal-getter even from midfield. He went to New Cosmos with Pele and the rest. He was that good. And I remember Kotoko went to Feyenoord in Holland, we lost 3-0 and the coach said that number 10(Abdul Razak) can fit into any team in the World. He was that good." He added.
Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed, commonly known as Mohammed Polo was nicknamed 'the dribbling magician' due to his incredible dribbling attribute.
The left-footed attacker earned a Black Stars call-up at age 17 and was part of the squad that won Ghana's third Africa Cup of nations in 1978.
He played for the Black Stars from 1973 to 1985, appearing 53 times and scoring 20 goals.
According to veteran coach Emmanuel Joseph Sarpong, the Hearts of Oak legend was better than 7 times Ballon D'or winner, Lionel Messi.
“I can confidently tell you that Mohammed Ahmed Polo is better than Lionel Messi,” he told Accra FM in 2018.
“Even though there was no technology in Polo’s era to determine an offside as compared to today, with the way he [Mohammed Polo] was playing, no player could have been compared to him if he should have played in Europe.”
For Abdul Razak, he is regarded as one of the best playmakers the country has ever produced.
Razak was a member of the group that won the AFCON in 1978. In the semi-final against Tunisia, he scored the golden goal that qualified Ghana for the final, hence the name, Golden Boy.
“...during the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, the name 'Golden Boy' became more popular when I scored the goal that handed Ghana the qualification to the final against Tunisia and because it was a Golden Goal commentator dubbed it the Golden Boy scores the Golden Goal. I subsequently won the Best Player of the Tournament," Razak said in 2020 as quoted by pulse.com
The one-time African footballer of the year was capped 70 times, scoring 20 goals.
Whereas, Abedi Pele played for the Black Stars from 1982-1998. He earn his national team call-up in 1982 at age 17 and won the AFCON the same year.
He was the best player at the AFCON in 1992, when Ghana finished second, losing the final to Ivory Coast on penalties.
The three-time African footballer of the year made 73 appearances for the Black Stars, scoring 19 goals.
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EE/SEA
Former Black Stars captain, Abedi Pele